Catching Up (as usual)...

In the weekend I went to a Creative Memories (12-9pm) class. I was late, and expected to finish early with Tombliboo breastfeeding around half-hourly (or less…if I sit down, he is on me). He managed very well apparently, though he was very keen for “boobah” when we got home.

I was *sore*, as all breastfeeding (and once breastfeeding) mums will be able to imagine! I was in trouble when it looked like one enormous melon would satisfy him and the other was fit to burst. It was possibly the first time he has turned down the offer of some breastmilk.

I got heaps done- 15 pages actually…and I had a fabulous time. DH took the kids to a park for hours, and met up with some other unschooling friends (purely accidental), then went to visit Nana. They got home after dark, and he made dinner for the mall.

On Sunday, he and I spent over 2 hours cleaning the mould off our bathroom. We have a lot of trouble with mould in this house- unlike anything we have ever seen before. It has been this way from the beginning, but it is getting very boring 2 years later. Our newly cleaned and de-moulded bedroom had plenty more growing 3 weeks later! I’ve complained to the landlord and hope to hear of some sort of resolution soon (though it has been nearly 2 weeks already with no response other than “We’ve received your letter”).

We planned to visit N and B(20 months), but it was 3:30pm before we were starting to get ready to go…N said they could visit us the next day instead, so Princess and I went to the shops while Tombliboo stayed with the WoW-playing boys.

On Monday, N and B (20 months) came for the whole day- it was fantastic…I got so much done- N helped with a lot of the tidying. Our house, despite my seemingly near-constant effort, is usually a pigsty after the weekend. We were watching the little people playing with the sand and water table when N asked if she could weed my garden…crazy!

It took hardly any time at all with both of us working on it, and the children were perfectly happy joining in, or doing their own thing outside. I gave up too soon when Tombliboo got a load of sand in his eyes.

Tuesday, we walked to the shops to get groceries- our first “big shop” without a car…we got a lot less than usual, but it was still a lot to carry. J-Man noticed I was struggling with lots of bags and a sleeping Tombliboo in the sling, so took 2 off me. Princess was carrying a bag already having bought herself a music box- to replace the one J-Man had bought her years before which broke.

Wednesday, we had our day of filming. It was a long day, starting before 7am- we went with dh on his way to work, got dropped of at Nana’s and played there for the morning. The producer had changed my call-time, so the kids needed to be looked after for 90 minutes before they could come with me.

Nana took them all to the park, but when it stared to rain they went to a different park/beach where there was some shelter. J-Man went in the sea- he can’t help it…it’s always been this way for him, middle of winter, freezing cold, trousers on, and still he needs to get in. Tombliboo followed…naturally. Princess managed to stay relatively dry on the beach looking for shells.

Meanwhile, I was getting make-up done…which sounds exciting, except it was makeup to make me look exhausted, so not that cool after all. Well, it was interesting- but I wasn’t a sow’s ear turned in to a silk purse ;0)

I enjoyed my first ever day of working with a film crew, and the other 3 featured extras were great fun to be with. We had a lot of laughs, and all got on fabulously.

The kids did everything they were told…we had been a bit worried (well, I had been a lot worried) by a comment from the “big boss” to our agent, that they were “wilder” than the other children they were going to be filming. But, one crewman told me he thought they were brilliant- they were “the most polite and well-behaved kids” he had seen on set, and especially for such a long day.

I noticed other children who were on-set as extras complaining about being bored and cold, but mine coped with the lot and didn’t make any waves at all. It was a cold day, and the ad is set in summer- so it was jackets on in the off moments, then back off again when the cameras rolled.

One fascinating aspect was in a scene where they had a row of flame below the cameras- this was to mimic heatwaves! This was a big production, with so many people everywhere it was quite overwhelming. Very unusual for me to have so many people know my name, even if hardly any of them said it correctly :0)

The director was tickled by Princess’s American accent (some sort of throwback from tv watching and solitary play, we presume), and when she asked “Where are my dang chips?”…they all got the giggles, and said she belonged in a film crew.

When I was struggling to do a bit exactly right- over and over and over :0(…nearly-dark, slightly raining, lots of tired people wanting to get home, Princess offered to give me a giant jaffa if I got it right. I was really embarrassed, and my pride had already taken a beating looking at the footage of myself. It was a bizarre experience- the instructions seemed simple enough, and I could do it with ease in slow motion- but when it came to real-time, making the movements seem fluid and not contrived was far more difficult than I imagined.

There were difficulties with cameras, and various other things as well, but it always seemed that it was my fault…and I overheard a lot of muttering from the crowd that made me want to throw in the towel. I have big shoulders though, and pushed on. I don’t think the director got the exact bit of footage she was looking for, but whether out of pity for me or the team of extras, or knowing it would soon be dark and no more footage was possible…she called it a day.

It was an interesting day- a tiring one…both children fell asleep on the way home, though Tombliboo kept saying “Wake Up”, and even went as far as tipping his water bottle on J-Man. I thought I could probably have joined them.

I was very proud of my children…I wish *I* had got that one bit right, and also that I was chosen for an ad for reasons other than being overweight and looking like an unlikely candidate for the job. But I have been given lots of food for thought, and hopefully some inspiration to change my situation.

Not today though- today, I hurt in odd places from practicing the same scene with unused muscles over and over. But I’m still smiling, and while I may only watch the ad once- I will be glad to see how it turns out.